The 10 greatest "losers" in football history

After legendary Paolo Maldini admitted he was a failure, Marca newspaper listed the players who lost the most finals.

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Javier Mascherano

The Argentine midfielder won a total of 20 titles, including six national championships with Corinthians (Brazil), River Plate (Argentina) and Barca (Spain). He also won the Champions League twice and won gold medals in men's soccer at the Olympics twice.

But Mascherano is part of a group of talented Argentine players who have been overlooked by the title, alongside Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi. He has lost 11 finals, one more than Messi. Among these are the 2014 World Cup final and the 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016 Copa America finals.

Patrick Evra

The French defender has won titles with every team he has played for, a total of 21 Cups. But he also has sad memories of the finals.

Evra is the player who has lost the Champions League final the most times (4 times). He lost his first match when playing for Monaco against Jose Mourinho's Porto in 2004. Three times later, he was defeated by Barca, playing for Man Utd in 2009, 2011 and Juventus in 2015. Evra also failed in the same match. Euro 2016 ended when France lost 0-1 to Portugal.

Arjen Robben

Robben used to play for top clubs like Chelsea, Real or Bayern. In the summer of 2019, he retired, ending a 19-year career with a total of 30 big and small titles.

But Robben also lost six finals. Among them, the most significant was the defeat in the 2010 World Cup final with the Dutch team. At that time, Robben missed a good opportunity when facing goalkeeper Iker Casillas and the Netherlands lost because of Andres Iniesta's goal in extra time. Robben also lost in the 2010 and 2012 Champions League finals (when playing for Bayern), in addition to three national Super Cup matches.

Michael Ballack

Dubbed the "second runner-up king", the former German captain lost all the most important finals of his career. It all started in 2002. At that time, Ballack and Bayer Leverkusen lost the Bundesliga championship in the final round. Then, they lost to Schalke in the German National Cup final. Ballack and Leverkusen continued to lose to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. In the summer, Ballack took Germany to the World Cup final but lost to Brazil.

In 2008, Ballack's nightmare returned when he and Chelsea lost to Man Utd in the Champions League final. After that, Ballack's Germany team lost to Spain in the Euro final. Having played for Kaiserslautern, Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, Ballack won 13 titles in his career and lost six finals.

Hector Cuper

If Ballack is the "second runner-up king" among players, then Cuper is the "second runner-up king" among coaches. He won the CONMEBOL Cup with Lanus Club in 1996 and won two Spanish Super Cups with Mallorca in 1998 and Valencia in 1999. But Cuper lost six other major finals.

When leading Mallorca, he lost to Barca in the 1998 King's Cup final and to Lazio in the 1999 Cup Winners' Cup final (predecessor of the Europa League). In Valencia, Cuper suffered an even greater tragedy. He lost two consecutive Champions League finals in 1999 and 2000. Cuper also lost the Serie A championship with Inter in the 2002-2003 season, lost the Greek National Cup final in 2010 and the European Nations Cup final. Africa 2017 with Egypt.

Alessandro Del Piero

Del Piero is one of the most talented players in Italian football history. With Juventus, he experienced glory but also tasted bitterness.

Del Piero won 15 titles with Juventus and stuck with the club even when he had to play in Serie B because of the Calciopoli scandal. He won the Champions League in 1996 but lost three finals of this tournament in the following years: 1997, 1998 and 2003. On the Italian team, Del Piero lost the Euro 2000 final but then won the 2006 World Cup.

Lothar Matthaus

The famous captain of the German team holds a record of participating in the World Cup five times and has won 26 titles in his career. His peak was the 1990 World Cup championship, 10 years after winning the Euro.

But he also lost two consecutive World Cup finals, against Italy in 1982 and Argentina in 1986. In 1980, at the age of 19, Matthaus lost the UEFA Cup final with Borussia Monchengladbach when they met another German team - Eintracht Frankfurt. Matthaus also lost the Champions League final twice, when playing for Bayern, in 1987 against Porto and 1999 against Man Utd.

Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain has played in top national championships. He won La Liga three times, won a King's Cup and two Spanish Super Cups with Real. With Napoli, Higuain won the Italian National Cup and Italian Super Cup. When he came to Juventus, he won the Serie A championship twice and the National Cup twice. At Chelsea, Higuain and this club won the Europa League.

But Higuain lost five finals, including the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals. In 2017, Higuain failed in the Champions League final with Juventus against Real. In 2019, he and Chelsea failed in the final of the English League Cup.

Many Argentina fans blamed Higuain when he missed a good opportunity in the 2014 World Cup final and missed a penalty shootout against Chile at the 2015 Copa America.

Gianluigi Buffon

Buffon is one of the great goalkeepers. He owns 23 titles during his time with Parma, Juventus and PSG. Buffon also won three Cups while playing for Italy at team levels. At the age of 42, Buffon has won most titles but the Champions League still eludes him.

Buffon lost three Champions League finals in 2003, 2015 and 2017. He also failed in the Coupe de France final with PSG in 2019, against Rennes, and lost the 2002 Italian National Cup final with Parma.

Antony de Avila

The legend of the Colombian team is famous for his height of only 1m57. He played football until he was 47 years old.

With 29 goals, he is the 6th highest scorer in Copa Libertadores history. But de Avila has never won this tournament.

He and America de Cali lost three consecutive Copa Libertadores finals in 1985 to Argentinos Juniors, 1986 to River Plate and 1987 to Penarol. De Avila appeared in two other finals of this tournament in 1995 and 1996, playing for Ecuadorian club Barcelona S.C. But he failed against Gremio and River Plate.